Columbia’s Rory Feek returning to stage

Rory Feek, one half of famed country duo Joey + Rory, announced this week he will play a series of shows in September, his first since Joey Feek’s passing in March 2016.

Feek made the announcement at a charity event Tuesday, saying the concerts, which will be Sept. 8-9 at his Pottsville farmhouse, are to raise money for Music Health Alliance. The Feeks relied on the nonprofit, which helps members of the music industry navigate health care insurance plans, during Joey Feek’s treatment for cervical cancer.

“I should get onstage and see what’s there, what’s in store. What would I say if I were up there by myself?” Feek said. “For me, it will be good because I will learn why I am supposed to be there and what the future holds.”

The concerts will be in preparation with Music Health Alliance’s Heal the Music Day in October, where the organization asks supporters to donate 5 percent of their income from one day. Rather than donating 5 percent, Feek plans to donate 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales.

He said the organization was paramount to his late wife’s chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and helped him to make sense of the stack of complicated medical bills while he coped with her death.

“They have never asked for anything, nothing. I have no idea what their business plan is,” he said of the nonprofit. “It was a blessing, because if you don’t make it through cancer, or if you do, you at least would like to feel good about the choices you made.”

Feek documented the couple’s battle with Joey’s cancer in his blog, This Life I Life, which was turned into a book released earlier this year.

Two months before her death, the duo released its final album, “Hymns That Are Important to Us,” which was recorded during Joey’s treatments. It won Best Roots Gospel Album at the 59th annual Grammy Awards in February.

Feek said the September concerts will also be to honor his wife’s birthday. During Tuesday’s press conference, he said Music Health Alliance continues to help him, saying they “took something complicated and made it very simple.”

“Honestly, I don’t have any idea what Music Health Alliance is. I only know what they have done for me and for my family,” he said. “They are like family to me, because my wife would do all of these things and she was brilliant, but I do not have her help and they stepped in like a family member and continue to stay with me.”